According to Dr Herbert Benson, MD, and president of Harvard Medical School’s Mind-Body Institute toxic thoughts lead to stress, which affects our body’s natural healing capacities.
Bisi Daniels
Thoughts matter a lot because most actions result from thought. But some people overthink or continue running thoughts that run down their health. Experts continue to study toxic thoughts that we have to discard.
For example, research shows that DNA actually changes shape according to our thoughts. As you think those negative thoughts about the week ahead that hasn’t happened yet, or that person who hasn’t actually said or done anything yet, (even in the absence of the concrete stimulus) the toxic thinking has changed your brain wiring in a negative direction and thrown your mind and body into stress. According to Dr Herbert Benson, MD, and president of Harvard Medical School’s Mind-Body Institute toxic thoughts lead to stress, which affects our body’s natural healing capacities.
Toxic thinking literally ‘wears down’ the brain and the rest of the body.This study showed that thinking and feeling anger, fear and frustration caused DNA to change shape according to thoughts (that is thoughts with their intertwined feelings). The DNA responded by tightening up, becoming shorter and switching off many DNA codes, which reduced quality expression; we will feel ‘shut down” by negative emotions and our body feels this too. What was really exciting about this study is the fact that the negative “shut down” or poor quality of the DNA codes was reversed with feelings of love, joy, appreciation and gratitude! The researchers also found that HIV positive patients with these positive thoughts and feelings had 300,000 times the resistance!
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Here are some toxic thoughts to discard:
Thinking that you are a victim
They call it the grasshopper mentality. Thinking you are not a victim. So stop blaming other people or your circumstances for your problems. Just because you don’t like where you are now doesn’t mean that you can’t take personal responsibility to change it for the better. So get rid of that victim mentality because it doesn’t help anything. In fact, it acts as an obstacle to success. Realize that only God and you are responsible for your destiny.
READ ALSO: DEVELOPING A WEALTH MENTALITY
Thinking that money equals happiness
We live in a capitalistic culture that values money and achievement. We think that people who have a lot of money are somehow better than those who don’t. But that’s simply not true. I’m sure there are plenty of happy monks in the world who probably don’t hold a dollar to their names. Or someone working at Mr Biggs may be really happy while some billionaires aren’t. So don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have to be rich to be happy. It simply isn’t true. Money is nice, but it doesn’t make you happy. Only you can do that.
Thinking that “The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side”
“If only I was as pretty as that girl, then I’d be happy.” Or “If only I was as rich as that guy, then I’d be happy.” Those kinds of thoughts aren’t true. Just because you think someone else has it better than you doesn’t mean they do. Maybe the pretty girl came from an abusive home and can’t get her life in order. And maybe the rich guy spends so much time at work that he never gets to see his family. The grass is not greener on the other side. So appreciate the grass you have. It’s your grass. So love it.
Dwelling on what you want that you’re not getting
If you are thinking about how you are not getting what you want, remember there are many people who will never have what you have right now.
Allowing problems to overwhelm you
Thinking too much turns situations into problems. The problem is not the problem; the problem is thinking you have a problem and allowing it to overwhelm you and spur you into overthinking. Let it go and let it be.
Thinking you have control
We like to think we can control everything. You cannot control everything, of course, but you can con- trol how you respond to things. The belief that we are in control is an illusion; our response to our thoughts is our power to make a difference.
Not believing in yourself
Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. Not believing in yourself twists things around, and often it makes things worse than they actually are. Belief in yourself takes just a little bit of confidence – work on cultivating it before doubt crushes you.
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Letting negativity rule you
When your thoughts dwell only on negativity, you don’t make room for positivity to take root. Train your mind to see the good in everything. Positivity is always a choice, and success depends on the quality of our thoughts.
Worrying about the future because you feel unprepared
I love this saying: “Worrying is like praying for what you don’t want.” And if you believe in the power of prayer, then you know that sending out thoughts and emotions into the Universe/God (whatever your belief system) works much of the time. So instead, be here in the NOW. Now is all you have. So be present and stop worrying about the future because you can only control it to a certain extent.
Believing that the past determines your future
Just because you came from a poor family, or made mistakes in the past does not mean that you can’t make your future better. If you have labeled yourself as a “failure” because of your past, then you will only continue your “failure” attitude into the future. And if you’ve heard of the self-fulfilling prophecy phenomenon, then you know that what you think, you become. So like I said in the opening paragraph: “Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life!”
Dwelling on the past
If you spend your time thinking about the past and dwelling on what went wrong, you will be tempted to respond the same old way, being the same old victim – and you’re robbing yourself of creating your future. Success lies in understanding the past but not dwelling there.
Worrying about what other people think
Why do you care? Do you think they are judging you? I’m going to let you in on a little secret. No one is judging you as much as you are judging yourself. Other people are too busy judging themselves just like you that they probably don’t even give you a second thought! So do what makes you happy. And if others are judging you, then it’s their problem, not yours. Ignore them and be happy anyway.